Leonard Aaron Iverson was born 17 February 1899, the first son and third child
of Charles Almond Iverson and Nettie May Biddick, on the farm that is now the
headquarters of Trelay Farms, Inc. in Clifton Township, Grant County,
Wisconsin. Leonard was born the year of one of the worst droughts on record in
Wisconsin. This drought was so bad that many farmers cut down green trees so
that the cattle could feed on the leaves. In about 1900, when Leonard was a
year old, his family moved to the farm, on which Ole Iversen had settled years
before. This farm is located about one mile north by northeast of the Rock
Church. Eight years later, they moved to the Fred Washburn farm, which became
known as the "Home Place", about half a mile north of the Rock Church. It was
on this farm that Leonard spent the rest of his youth and teenage years.
In 1918, to accommodate the large family of six girls and four boys, the family
built a new house on the farm.
Lela Verona Place was born 16 February 1902, the daughter of Eugene George Place and Louisa Scheel. She was born in Belmont, Lafayette County, Wisconsin.
Later, her family moved to Annaton, Clifton Township, Grant County, Wisconsin,
where Lela's father ran the saw mill.
Leonard and Lela were married in Galena, Jo Daviess County, Illinois on 27
October 1927. They had known each other for about one year at the time of
their marriage.
After their marriage Leonard and Lela settled on Leonard's farm, where all of
their children were born. These children included Roscoe Merle, who was born
22 January 1928; Ralph Arden, who was born 2 December 1930; Laurence Edward,
who was born 8 March 1932; Evelyn Lorraine, who was born 28 June 1933; Cleone Mary, who was born 14 December 1935; Roger James, who was born 26 March 1937;Barbara Ann, who was born 25 April 1939; and Eugene Charles, who was born 23
September 1941. There were also two children who were born stillborn, the first on 29 November 1934 and the second on 23 August 1940.
Life on the farm was quite exciting at times. When Ralph was seven years old,
he was climbing up the silo getting pigeon eggs when he fell thirty-two feet to
the bottom of the silo, smashing his shoulder. He was taken to Dr. Hamilton in
Dodgeville, but it took three casts to set his shoulder correctly. Later,
Ralph was hit in head when a horse ran over him after a firecracker went off.
Roger had a quite a similar time, almost drowning in the pond that was on the
Home Farm and Leonard's place.
Several of the Iverson cousins had accidents, falling down the hay chute on
Leonard's farm. These included Jack Iverson, Clarence's boy, Deena Iverson,
Homer's girl, and Roger Iverson, Leonard's boy.
Later, Dwayne, Homer's boy, and Roger were driving home from a day of rabbit
hunting when they drove off the bridge, which was covered with ice, near old
home place. When the car hit the ditch they were quite startled as the gun
went off.
One incident on Leonard's farm was not only quite funny, but dangerous at the
same time. Leonard had an old stump in the middle of one of his fields, and
his brother, Raymond, decided that he was going to get that stump out of there.
So he drove out to the middle of the field with his car and planted dynamite
all around the stump. After lighting the fuse, Raymond jumped into the car to
make his get away. Unfortunately the car was difficult to start and Raymond
barely got away.
One year during the depression, Leonard decided he was going to raise potatoes
on the farm. He planted his field and raised a bumper crop, but was unable to
sell the potatoes, so he stored them in one of the sheds, and the family ate
potatoes for the longest time after that. He also vowed that he would never
raise potatoes again.
Leonard and his family attended the Rock Church until the mid-1950's, when
regular services were discontinued. This ended nearly one hundred years of
continuous attendance by the descendants of Ole Iversen.
Leonard served in many capacities of service during his lifetime. Besides
serving as Clerk for 24 years at the Martinville School, he was also on the
Clifton Township board for 20 years. Additionally, he was so respected by his
family and other members of the community that he served as executor of his
father's, Charles Almond's, and his brother's, Clarence Wesley's, estates.
All of the surviving children attended the Martinville School, located about a
quarter of a mile down the road from the farm. Later they attended the
Livingston High School. Laurence Edward graduated on 25 May 1950, Evelyn
Lorraine graduated on 24 May 1951, Cleone Mary graduated on 21 May 1953, and
Barbara Ann graduated on 23 May 1957.
Ralph Arden married Betty Lou Dailey on 22 June 1953 at St. Lukes Methodist
Church in Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Virgil Dailey.
Leonard and Lela, never really moved from the area of the farm. Instead,
Leonard, who was a fine carpenter, remodeled the Martinville schoolhouse and
moved into it. His son, Laurence, ran the farm after that. About seven years
after their fiftieth wedding anniversary, Lela passed away in Lancaster, Grant
County, Wisconsin on 8 July 1984. Leonard followed her nine years later on 6
October 1993. They are both buried in Rock Church Cemetery on the south side
of the church.
(George Wm. Phillips, Ancestry and Family History of Mary Anne Iverson, Family
History Group, 2001 - 2003, GWP Archives and Databases.
Based on personal research of the author commencing in 1980. Published on the
internet, beginning 2001. Source Media Type: Electronic Data.)
